Questions:

1. Were these two sentences (This day have those who disbelieve...and This day have I perfected for you your religion...) revealed at the same time as the preceding and following speeches?

2. Which day does the clause "This day" refer to?

3. How did the disbelievers despair of the Muslims' religion?

4. What does 'perfection of religion' and 'completion of favor' point to?

The exegetes selected for this study are:

Ibn Kathir

Allamah Tabataba'I

Sayyid Maududi

Go To:  Our Conclusions

IBN KATHIR:

(Actual text 'Abridged' English volume 3, pages 92-95)

Allah said, (This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion)

`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said that the Ayah means, "They gave up hope that Muslims would revert to their religion.'' This is similar to the saying of `Ata' bin Abi Rabah, As-Suddi and Muqatil bin Hayyan. This meaning is supported by a Hadith recorded in the Sahih that states, "Verily, Shaytan has given up hope that those who pray in the Arabian Peninsula, will worship him. But he will still stir trouble among them.” It is also possible that the Ayah negates the possibility that the disbelievers and Shaytan will ever be like Muslims, since Muslims have various qualities that contradict Shirk and its people. This is why Allah commanded His believing servants to observe patience, to be steadfast in defying and contradicting the disbelievers, and to fear none but Allah.

Allah said, (So fear them not, but fear Me)

Meaning, `do not fear them when you contradict them. Rather, fear Me and I will give you victory over them, I will eradicate them, and make you prevail over them, I will please your hearts and raise you above them in this life and the Hereafter.'

Allah said, (This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion)

This, indeed, is the biggest favor from Allah to this Ummah, for He has completed their religion for them, and they, thus, do not need any other religion or any other Prophet except Muhammad. This is why Allah made Muhammad the Final Prophet and sent him to all humans and Jinn. Therefore, the permissible is what he allows, the impermissible is what he prohibits, the Law is what he legislates and everything that he conveys is true and authentic and does not contain lies or contradictions. Allah said: “And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice” meaning, it is true in what it conveys and just in what it commands and forbids. When Allah completed the religion for Muslims, His favor became complete for them as well. Allah said, “This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” meaning, accept Islam for yourselves, for it is the religion that Allah likes and which He chose for you, and it is that with which He sent the best of the honorable Messengers and the most glorious of His Books. Ibn Jarir recorded that Harun bin `Antarah said that his father said, "When the Ayah,  “This day, I have perfected your religion for you...” was revealed, during the great day of Hajj (the Day of `Arafah, the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah) `Umar cried. The Prophet said, `What makes you cry' He said, `What made me cry is that our religion is being perfected for us. Now it is perfect, nothing is perfect, but it is bound to deteriorate.' The Prophet said, “You have said the truth.'' What supports the meaning of this Hadith is the authentic Hadith, "Islam was strange in its beginning and will return strange once more. Therefore, Tuba for the strangers.” Imam Ahmad recorded that Tariq bin Shihab said, "A Jewish man said to `Umar bin Al-Khattab, `O Leader of the Believers! There is a verse in your Book, which is read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed) as a day of celebration.' `Umar bin Al-Khattab asked, `Which is that verse' The Jew replied, "This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you...” `Umar replied, `By Allah! I know when and where this verse was revealed to Allah's Messenger . It was the evening on the Day of `Arafah on a Friday.''' Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith through Al-Hasan bin As-Sabbah from Ja`far bin `Awn. Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i also recorded this Hadith. In the narration collected by Al-Bukhari in the book of Tafsir, through Tariq, he said, "The Jews said to `Umar, `By Allah! There is a verse that is read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed) as a day of celebration.' `Umar said, `By Allah! I know when and where this verse was revealed and where the Messenger of Allah was at that time. It was the day of `Arafah, and I was at `Arafah, by Allah.'' Sufyan (one of the narrators) doubted if Friday was mentioned in this narration. Sufyan's confusion was either because he was unsure if his teacher included this statement in the Hadith or not. Otherwise, if it was because he doubted that the particular day during the Farewell Hajj was a Friday, it would be a mistake that could not and should not have come from someone like Sufyan Ath-Thawri. The fact that it was a Friday, is agreed by the scholars of Sirah and Fiqh. There are numerous Hadiths that support this fact that are definitely authentic and of the Mutawatir type. This Hadith was also reported from `Umar through various chains of narration.

ALLAMAH TABATABA'I

(Actual text from al-Mizan, volume 9, pages 227-247)

Qur’an: This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me.

The positioning of this speech in the midst of this verse, and then its connotation are truly amazing. If you ponder on the beginning of this verse, that is: ­Forbidden to you is that which dies itself, and blood…that is a transgression, and then join to it the end part, but whoever is compelled by hunger, not inclining willfully to sin, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful, you will see that it is a complete sentence and does not depend for completion of its meaning and explanation of its theme to this part of the verse at all. If you take out these sentences, then the remaining part will perfectly correspond with previously revealed verses in the chapters, “Cattle”, “The Bee” and “The Cow”, which give the list of the forbidden items. The verse in the chapter of “The Cow” says: He has forbidden to you what dies itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that over which any other (name) than (that of) Allah has been invoked; but whoever is forced (to it), not revolting, nor exceeding the limit, no sin shall be upon him; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful (2:173). Similar wordings are found in the chapters of “Cattle” and “The Bee”.

It is clear that the Divine words, “This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion…” is a parenthetical speech placed in the midst of this verse, yet the main verse does not depend on it for its exposition or explanation. We may say that this speech was actually revealed in the middle of this verse separating the preceding part from the following one; or that the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) himself ordered the scribes to put this speech in this place even though it had no connotation with this verse, and was not even revealed at the same time; or that the compilers put it in this place at the time of compilation although both the parts were revealed at totally different times. None of these probabilities can affect the view we have just mentioned that it is a parenthetical speech.

This view is strengthened by the fact that most, if not all the traditions describing the reason of its revelation – and there are a lot of such traditions – particularly talk about the words of Allah, “This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion…”, without hinting even once to the beginning of the verse, that is: Forbidden to you is that which dies of itself…This proves that the Divine words, “This day have those who disbelieve…”, were independently revealed and have no connection with the preceding or the following verses. Thus, the present positioning of this speech in the middle of the verse will have to be attributed either to the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) or to the compilers of the Qur’an after him.

A tradition in ad-Durru ‘l-manthur somewhat supports this view. It is narrated from ‘Abd ibn Hamid from ash-Sha’bi that he said, “This verse: This day I have perfected for you your religion…, was revealed to the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) while he was in ‘Arafat, and when any verses much pleased him, he used to put them in the beginning of the chapter.” He also said, “Jibril used to teach him how to do it.”

The two sentences, that is: This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion…, and: This day have I perfected for you your religion…, have identical themes and no one can have any doubt that the meaning of both are connected with each other. There is very close connection between the despairing of the disbelievers from the Muslims’ religion and the perfection of the Muslims’ religion; both connotations are joined together in a single theme, both sentences are interconnected and their sides are combined with one another. Add to it the singularity of context in these two sentences.

Further support of this view can be found in the convention of the ancient and modern exegetes – right from the companions of the Prophet and their followers to our contemporaries in these days. All of them take the two sentences jointly as if one completes the other. This unanimous way of explanation shows that all of them believed that these two sentences were revealed together and both of them jointly describe one meaning.

It appears from the above that this parenthetical verse: “This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion…”, and: chosen for you Islam as a religion, is a single speech and its parts are inter-connected and the whole speech leads to a single theme  which is reflected in the two sentences jointly. It makes no difference whether we say that this speech is connected with the preceding and following sentences or not. The two sentences will remain as one speech; they can never be treated as two talks having two separate aims. Also, it is clear that the word “this day” repeated in both sentences refers to a single day when the believers were despaired and the religion was perfected.

To which day does the adverb, “this day”, refer in these two sentences?

1.    Does it refer to the time when the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) was commanded to call the people to Islam? Does it mean that Allah sent to you the Islam, perfected the religion for you, and completed His favors on you and made the disbelievers despaired of your religion?

COMMENT: It cannot be. The context shows that the Muslims already had a religion which the disbelievers were eager to change or destroy altogether, while the Muslims were afraid of them concerning their religion, but Allah deprived the disbelievers of their nefarious goal and made the Muslims secure and safe; that religion was imperfect and Allah made it perfect on that day and completed His favors on them. But the Muslims had no religion of their own before the advent of Islam, so, where was the question of the disbelievers having some hope of destroying that religion or of Allah perfecting it and completing His favors on them? Moreover, if that interpretation is taken seriously, then the sentence: This day I have perfected for you your religion… should have preceded the sentence: This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion… Only in this way, could literary perfection be achieved.

2.    Or does “this day” refer to the era after the conquest of Mecca? Because on that day, Allah had nullified the intrigues of the Qurayshite polytheists and destroyed their power; their religion was uprooted and their idols shattered; in this way they lost all hope of standing on their feet to prevent the spread of Islam and to fight against it.

COMMENT: This cannot be too. The verse announces that on the day under discussion, the religion was perfected and the Divine favors completed; but the religion was yet incomplete in the year 8 AH when Mecca was conquered; there were many obligatory laws

Apart from that, “those who disbelieve” covers all the idolaters of Arabia and not all of them had despaired of the Muslims’ religion. There were many covenants still valid which obligated the Muslims and many disbelieving tribes not to stand against each other; they still performed the hajj of jahiliyyah according to the custom of the idolaters; their women still performed hajj completely naked. This had continued until the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) sent ‘Ali (a.s.) with the verses of the chapter of “Repentance” and thus the remnants of the customs of the Days of Ignorance were erased.

3.    Or does “this day” refer to the period after the revelation of the chapter of “Repentance” (end of the year 9 AH)? Because Islam had spread to almost all areas of the Arabian Peninsula; the customs of the Days of Ignorance were wiped out and the signs of polytheism obliterated. Now, the Muslims did not encounter any polytheist during the hajj rituals and their life was free from the shadow of disbelief; Allah had given them peace and order (while before that they were scared and afraid), they worshipped Allah and ascribed none to Him.

COMMENT: This too cannot be. Although the idolaters of Arabia had despaired of the Muslims’ religion after the revelation of the chapter of “Repentance” when the customs of the jahiliyyah were wiped out and polytheism had gone out of the Peninsula, yet the religion was not completed at that time. A lot of rules and regulations were revealed after that, including the chapter of “The Table” which, all agree, was revealed during the last days of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and this chapter contains a lot of laws about lawful and unlawful things, penal code and retribution.

It is now clear that the adverb “this day” cannot be taken to mean a long period, which might be apparently relevant to the connotation of this verse, for example, the era of the advent of Islam, or the time of the conquest of Mecca or after the revelation of the verses of “Repentance”. The only alternative is to say that “this day” refers to the particular day when this verse was revealed. Does it mean the day when Mecca was conquered or the day when the chapter of “Repentance” was revealed? The objections which we have raised against the second and the third possibilities above are enough to refute these suggestions altogether.

Or does it mean the day of ninth Dhi’l-hijjah of the last pilgrimage (10 AH) as claimed by many exegetes and shown in some traditions? If so, then we will have to decide how the unbelievers had despaired of the Muslims’ religion on that day. Does it mean that the polytheists of Quraysh had lost all hope of overpowering the Muslims’ religion? But this had happened on the day Mecca was conquered in the year 8 AH and not on 9th Dhi’l-hijjah 10 AH. Or does it refer to the despairing of the polytheists of the whole of Arabia? But this had already happened at the time of the revelation of the chapter of “Repentance” in the year 9 AH. Or does it relate to the despairing of the disbelievers – the Jews, the Christians, the fire-worshippers and others? (And this all-inclusive meaning is more in keeping with the unrestricted phrase “those who disbelieve”.) But those people had not yet despaired of overcoming the Muslims because Islam had not acquired any foothold or power beyond the Arabian Peninsula on the day of ‘Arafah in the year 10 AH.

Looking from another angle, we should again ponder on this day (9th Dhi’l-hijjah 10 AH): What importance it had which could be in keeping with the Divine words: This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you.

1.      It may probably be said that it means perfecting the rituals of hajj in the presence of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) himself there, as he practically taught them the manasik of hajj and gave verbal explanations.

COMMENT: Merely teaching the manasik of hajj cannot be called perfection of religion by any stretch of imagination. First of all, he had ordered them to do hajju ‘t-tamattu’ and not many years had passed that it was discontinued. Secondly many important pillars of religion had been established long before that, like prayer, fast, hajj, zakat, jihad, etc. How can teaching an obligatory ritual of the religion be called perfection of that obligatory thing? And how can teaching one obligatory part of religion be called perfection of the whole religion?

Moreover, this view cuts the connection between the first sentence (This day have those who disbelieve…) and the second one (This day have I perfected for you your religion…). And what is the relevance of despairing of the disbelievers to teaching the people hajju ‘t-tamattu’?

2.      It may be said that the perfection of the religion points to the revelation of all pending lawful and unlawful things “this day” in the chapter of “The Table”; after that there came no new halal or haram. And with perfection of religion the disbelievers were overwhelmingly despaired and its signs appeared on their faces.

COMMENT: First we have to decide who were the disbelievers described by the phrase “those who disbelieve”. If it refers to the disbelievers of Arabia, then Islam had already engulfed them and there was nobody who did not publicly declare to be a Muslim. So, who were the despairing disbelievers?

And if it is taken to refer to the non-Arab disbelievers who lived around Arabia, then we have described earlier that they had not despaired on that day of overpowering the Muslims.

Then the claim that the door of legislation was closed on the day of ‘Arafah is nonsense. There are a lot of traditions, which mention revelations of rules and regulations after that day. See, for example, the verse of the ‘summer’ (the verse of al-kalaalah at the end of chapter “Women”) and the verses of ‘interest’. It has been narrated from ‘Umar that he said inter alia in a sermon: “Among the last verses of the Qur’an to be revealed is the verse of interest; the Messenger of Allah died without explaining it to us. Therefore leave  whatever you feel doubtful about and go to that which you have no doubt.” Also, al-Bukhari has narrated in his Sahih from ibn ‘Abbas that he said, “The last verse revealed to the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) was the verse of interest.” There are many similar traditions.

Nobody should say that these traditions are weak; therefore the verse should have precedence over them; because the verse doesn’t explicitly say which day it talks about. The day of ‘Arafah is just a possibility and for the definite identification of the day, first all the possibilities have to be discarded; and these traditions offer at least opposing views.

3.    Somebody may say that the perfection of the religion points to the fact that the Sacred House had exclusively come into their hands and the polytheists were banished from it, the Muslims performed their hajj and there was no polytheist to mingle with them.

COMMENT: We have already said that this happened one year before the day of ‘Arafah. Then why should it be restricted with the adverb “this day” in the verse: This day have I perfected for you your religion… Even if we accept that this exclusive hold on the Ka’bah was the completion of the Divine favor, it cannot be said that it was the perfection of religion. Why should the exclusive possession of the Ka’bah be called perfecting the religion, when religion is nothing but a collection of beliefs and regulations? Religion could only be perfected if some parts or chapters were added to it. That the environment became conducive for the implementation of the rules of religion and the snags and hurdles were removed from practicing it is not called perfecting of the religion. Moreover, the difficulty concerning the despair of the disbelievers remains in its place.

4.     A writer has tried to combine the above hypothesis, which we are giving here in short before commenting on it: <<He says that perfecting the religion means that Allah has described these forbidden items of food in detail in order that the Muslims may follow it without being afraid of the disbelievers, because the disbelievers have despaired of the Muslims’ religion and Allah has given strength and power to the Muslims and made them victorious over the infidels. Why did Allah mention only the four forbidden things (that which dies of itself, flesh of swine and that on which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked) in the early days of Islam in some chapters of the Meccan period? And why did He delay giving the details of what comes within its circle, which Islam does not like the Muslims to use until Mecca was conquered? It was done to promulgate the prohibition of these filthy things gradually and to show their intense undesirability. It was the same policy which was used in prohibition of liquor step by step, so that the Arabs should not have an aversion to Islam and should not find it intolerable; and would continue hoping that their property-ridden folks (who constituted the majority of the early converts to Islam) would return to their original infidelity. This detailed description of the forbidden things was revealed after Islam gained strength and Allah gave the Muslims wealth and power. This was after the polytheists had lost hope that the Muslim would never turn away from Islam, they had realized that they could not defeat the Muslims nor could they make them renounce their religion under duress. Now, the believers were in a position where they were not afraid of the disbelievers about their religion or their lives and had no need to deal with them politely. Thus the adverb “this day” means the day of ‘Arafah in the year of the last pilgrimage. It was the day when this verse was revealed which describes whatever laws had remained undisclosed until now; through these laws, Islam nullified the remnants of the abasements, evils and superstitions of the Days of Ignorance. This verse brought the good news to the Muslims that they have gained the upper hand over the polytheists, who were now despaired of the Muslims’ religion; now the Muslims did not have any need to deal with them in soft manners or any fear of their reprisals. Thus Allah informs them in this verse that the disbelievers themselves are despaired of their religion; and now that Allah has changed their weakness to power, their apprehension to tranquility and their poverty to riches, the Muslims should not be afraid of anyone other than Allah and should refrain and abstain from using the things forbidden in detail in this verse because in this lies the perfection of the religion. >>

COMMENT: This writer wanted to gather together several of the previously mentioned hypotheses in order to dispel the objections leveled against one possibility with the help of another possibility. But he became embroiled in all the perils together and in the process he corrupted the words and meaning of the verse completely.

He failed to realize that if the disbelievers’ despair refer to that despair, which had resulted from the victory and power of Islam, then it happened on the day Mecca, was conquered or, let us say, when the verses of the chapter of “Repentance” were pronounced. Therefore, it would not be correct to announce on the day of ‘Arafah in the year 10 AH: This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, because they had despaired of it one or two years before. Had it been the case, the verse should have said: Those who disbelieve have already despaired of your religion (as this writer had himself used the wording while giving his explanation). Or alternatively, it could be said: They are despaired.

Also, he seems oblivious of the fact that if this supposed gradual prohibition of various food items (for which he has mentioned the analogy of prohibition of the intoxicant) means that some food items were prohibited after some others, then you have seen that this verse does not mention any other prohibited items than the previously revealed verses of prohibition had done, that is, the verses of the chapters of “The Cow”, “Cattle” and “The Bee”; keeping in view that strangled animals, etc, are merely the details of dead animals.

And if he means that the previous descriptions were general and this verse gives the details, and it was done because there was a possibility of people refusing to follow the rules, then it is out of place; what was explicitly mentioned in the previous chapters, that is, “the dead animal, blood, flesh of swine and that on which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked”, were more commonly used in the society, and people should have revolted against that rule more readily than against the rule about strangled animal and that beaten to death, etc., because these situations occur very rarely. If there was any danger of opposition, then the first mentioned four things should not have not have been prohibited so explicitly; and when they were prohibited without any fear, why should there be any hesitation in relatively unimportant examples.

Moreover, even if we accept his interpretation, it could not be called perfection of religion. How can legislation of some rules be named ‘religion’? And how can its promulgation and explanation be called perfection of religion? Even if we accept it, it would be perfection of a small part of religion and completion of some of the favors, rather than the whole religion and all the favors; while Allah says: This day have I perfected your religion and completed My favor on you; here, the perfection and completion are all-encompassing without any restriction.

Moreover, Allah had legislated a lot of rules and laws during all preceding years. What was the specialty of this rule on this day that its legislation or explanation should be called perfection of religion and completion of grace?

Or does the perfection of religion mean that Allah perfected it by closing the door of legislation after revealing this verse, which gives the details of forbidden food items? Then what will be said about those rules, which were revealed after revelation of this chapter and before the death of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.)? Rather, what will be said about all the rules, which were revealed in this very chapter of “The Table” after this verse? Think over it.

Until now, we have left the last clause untouched: and chosen for you Islam as a religion, which means: This day I have chosen for you Islam as a religion. If the speech ends at describing the favors of Allah on the Muslims by detailing the forbidden food on the day of ‘Arafah in the year 10 AH, then what will be the relevance of this clause? What special thing happened on that day that Allah chose Islam as their religion. There was nothing, most of the objections leveled against the preceding interpretations apply to this too; and there is no need to repeat them here.

Or does “This day” point to any particular day between the day of ‘Arafah and the arrival of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) at Medina when the disbelievers were despaired and the religion was perfected. But again the objections described earlier against other interpretations would be leveled against this, with the same details.

Up to here we have discussed this verse looking at what has been or could be said about it regarding its interpretation. Now we shall look at it in the way that is more consistent with the special style of this book.

"This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me: Despair and disappointment is opposite of hope; and the religion was sent down gradually. In this backdrop, this sentence indicates that disbelievers in the early days of Islam had some hope regarding the Muslims' religion, expecting it to somehow die with the passage of time. This idea of theirs posed a great threat against Islam from time to time and such a situation necessitated for the believers to be always on guard and live in fear. In this background, the words, "so fear them not" reassure the believers that Allah would protect them from the danger which was facing them and which had caused them such a fear. Allah says: A party of the People of the Book desire that they should lead you astray (3:69); also He says: Many of the People of the Book wish that they could turn you back into unbelievers after your faith, out of envy on their part, (even) after the truth has become manifest to them. But pardon and forgive (them) until Allah should bring about His command Surely Allah has power over all things (2:109). The disbelievers were not waiting for something to happen to the Muslims except because of their religion, and they were not angry with them and their hearts were not burning against them but for one reason: The religion of Islam posed a challenge to their supremacy and was ruining their dominance. It puts hindrance against their indulging in the pleasures they were inclined to, and to which they were accustomed all their lives; it was putting a stop to their unrestricted debauchery and wanton behavior.

What they hated was the religion, not the followers of the religion. Of course, they disliked the Muslims, but it was because of their acceptance of the Divine religion. The reason why they wanted to annihilate the Muslims and destroy their society was their intention to put out the Light of Allah; they wanted to re-strengthen the pillars of polytheism, which had been shaking because of the impact of Islam. They hoped against hope that they would one day turn the believers into disbelievers, as has been described in the Divine words: that they could turn you back into unbelievers; and He has said: They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, though the unbelievers may be averse. He it is Who sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, so that He may make it triumph over the religions, though the polytheists may be averse (61:8‑9); Therefore call upon Allah being sincere to Him in religion though averse be the unbelievers (40:14).

In short, their only plan was to cut this blessed tree from its root and demolish this lofty structure from its foundation; they tried to ensnare the believers in various ways, spreading hypocrisy in their midst and creating doubts in their hearts in order to corrupting their religion.

In the beginning, they tried to weaken the determination of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and enfeeble his resolve for religious da'wah (call) by offering him worldly riches and honor; as the Divine words point to it: And the chief persons of them break forth, saying: "Go and steadily adhere to your gods; this is most surely a thing sought after" (38:6). Alternatively, they tried flattery and friendly intercourse, as may be seen in the following verses: They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant (52:9); And had it not been that We had already firmly established you, you would have been near to incline to them a little (17:74); Say: "0 unbelievers! I do not worship that which you worship. Nor do you worship Him Whom I worship. " (109:1‑3), as is understood from the traditions giving the reasons of their revelation.

The last thing, which they hoped would bring downfall to Islam, and toll the death bell of the da'wah was the idea that Islam would certainly die with the death of its Prophet (s.a.w.a.) as he did not have a male offspring. In their eyes, the Prophet wanted to establish a kingdom in the guise of Prophethood, and begin his reign in the name of Divine call and Messengership. When he died or was killed, his traces would be erased, his memory would die and his religion would be forgotten. After all, this is what generally and habitually happens with kings and despotic rulers; no matter how great a power they acquire, how much arrogance they show, their memory dies with their death, and their laws and codes which had kept the people in their bondage are buried with them in their graves. The chapter of "Abundance" refers to this ultimate hope of theirs when it says: Surely your enemy is the one who shall be without posterity (108:3), as is clear from the reason of its revelation.

These and similar expectations had kept their hope alive, and they believed that one day they would extinguish the light of the religion. They were under erroneous impression that this pure Divine call was merely a fiction whose falsity will become obvious in the coming days; and the passage of time will erase its tracks and finish it. But gradually, the Islam overcame all its adversaries ‑ the false religions and their believers; the fame of Islam spread far and wide, and the religion acquired strength and power to defeat its enemies; these developments rooted out their hopes, they became despaired as they knew that they could not spoil the determination of the Prophet, nor could they diminish his zeal; and they had found earlier that he could not be bought by wealth or honor.

Islam's strength and power engulfed them with despair and pessimism; all the endeavors for defeating the Prophet had proved futile; yet one hope was still alive: The hope that he did not have any male offspring who could succeed him in his mission, to keep the religious da'wah alive as he was doing; so they hoped that his religion would die with him. It was self‑evident that a religion, however perfect it may be in its shari'ah and ideology, could not protect itself in the absence of a protector. Clearly, any established tradition and any religion with all its followers could not maintain its purity and freshness by itself, no matter how much its fame had spread in the world and how many people had entered into its fold. It needed someone who could protect it from deterioration and pollution. Also, 'it was clear that a religion could not be obliterated or annihilated by force or coercion, threats or mischief; or torture and things like that. It could die only with the death of its protectors and those who were appointed to manage its affairs.

All this shows that the total despair of unbelievers could take place only if Allah was to appoint someone who would stand in the place of the Prophet for protection of religion and management of its affairs, in order that he could properly lead the Muslim ummah on the right path. This was sure to bring in its wake the disappointment and despair of the disbelievers concerning the Muslims' religion. Then the enemies would realize that the religion has already developed and reached the stage where it is not dependent on the person of the Prophet alone; rather it is placed under the care of a group who are true successors of the Prophet. This would be the perfection of the religion as it would discard the transient nature and acquire continuity and eternity; and this would be the completion of the Divine favor. Let us look at the Divine words: Many of the People of the Book wish that they could turn you back into unbelievers after your faith, out of envy on their part, (even) after the truth has become manifest to them. But pardon and forgive (them) until Allah should bring about His command. Surely Allah has power over all things (2:109). Very probably, the words: until Allah should bring about His command, point to this very theme.

This explanation supports what has been narrated in the traditions that the verse was revealed on the day of Ghadir Khumm, the 18th day of Dhi 'l‑hijjah the year 10 AH, regarding the successorship of 'Ali (a.s.). In this way, the two sentences will be very clearly connected with each other, and none of the objections mentioned earlier could be leveled against this explanation.

Now, that you have understood the meaning of desperation in this verse, you will appreciate that "this day" in the Divine Speech, "This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion", is an adverb of time related to the verb "have despaired". The adverb has been placed at the beginning of the sentence in order to show this day's importance and grandeur; as it was on this day that the religion passed the stage of personal guardianship of the Prophet and entered into the stage of collective guardianship of the Imams; in this way, it rose from transience to permanence and eternity.

On going ahead, we shall find a similar construction in the verse: This day (all) the good things are allowed to you ... (5:5). But the verse under discussion cannot be compared with this verse, because the contexts of the two verses are totally different. The verse: This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, is a sort of expostulation against the unbelievers, while the verse: This day (all) the good things are allowed to you, begins a new subject. Also, the connotations are different. The former is a creative decree, which contains good news on one side and warning on the other, while the latter is a legislative decree and describes the Divine grace and favor to the Muslims. This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, shows the grandeur of the day because it brought a very highly beneficial good to the Muslims, that is, desperation of the unbelievers regarding the Muslims' religion. "those who disbelieve" refers to all the disbelievers, be they idol‑worshippers, Jews, Christians or others, because the clause is unrestricted, as we had described earlier.

The prohibition in the Divine words: so fear them not, and fear Me, is advisory, not obligatory. The connotation is that now that those who until now had posed as a danger to you have despaired, you have no reason to fear them; a man does not spend his energies for something when he has lost all hopes of attaining it; so now you are safe from their side and you should not fear them concerning your religion; therefore, "fear them not, and fear Me".

The words, "fear Me" in this context show that the Muslims should now fear Allah in the matter concerning which they until then were afraid of the disbelievers, because now they cannot deprive you of your religion. It is clear that this is a sort of warning to the Muslims; and that is why we have not taken this verse as a statement of favor. This explanation gets strengthened if we remember that the fear of Allah is obligatory in any case. It is not that it is wajib (obligatory) in this state but not in that; or with this condition and not with that; therefore, there was no reason to add "and fear Me" after the clause, "fear them not" if it does not indicate a very special fear in a particular situation.

These sentences should not be compared with the Divine words: ... so do not fear them, and fear Me if you are believers (3:175); because the order to fear Allah in this verse is made conditional to believing; the order is obligatory and the connotation is that the believers are forbidden to fear the disbelievers regarding their safety; rather, they are obliged to fear Allah alone. The verse, therefore, forbids them to do what was not proper for them, that is, their fearing the disbelievers concerning their own selves; it makes no difference here whether they are told to fear Allah or not. That is why the order to fear Allah has been made conditional to their being the believers, and this condition also expounds the reason of this order.

But the Divine words in the verse under the discussion, "so fear them not and fear Me", are not like that. The believers' fear in this verse was the fear concerning their religion; and Allah did not dislike such a fear, because in reality it meant the pursuit of the Divine pleasure. When Allah forbids this fear, it is because the reason causing that fear was no more. They feared the disbelievers because the disbelievers had not despaired of their religion yet; but now that the situation has changed, they no more needed to fear them. Thus, the prohibition here is advisory; and consequently, the order to fear Allah also is in advisory capacity. The connotation, in short, is that it is necessary that you should be cautious and fearful in the matters of religion; but the cause of fear until now had come from disbelievers and you were afraid of them because till today they had hoped to divert you from your religion; but today they have despaired, and now the cause of fear emanates from Allah. Therefore, you should be afraid of Him alone. Ponder on it.

The verse because of the words, "so fear them not, and fear Me", gives a hint of a warning and threat, because it orders the believers to have a special fear. It is not the general fear, which is obligatory for the believers in all, conditions and at all times. Let us think on the specialty of this fear and find out why it has been made obligatory.

There is no doubt that the two sentences of this verse, that is: This day have those who disbelieve ... ; and, This day have I perfected for you your religion, are inter-related and express the same theme, as we have explained before. The religion which Allah had perfected this day and the bounty which He had completed this day (in reality both are the same thing) was the thing regarding which the disbelievers had entertained all those hopes and because of which the believers were afraid of them; now Allah made the disbelievers despaired of that religion, perfected it and completed it and then forbade the believers to fear the disbelievers in this respect. Now when He orders them to fear His Own self, it must refer to the same type of fear, that is, about the religion; they should remain on guard lest Allah takes away the religion from their hands and remove this gifted favor from them.

Allah has made it clear that He does not take away any favor except when the recipient of that favor shows ingratitude; and He has threatened the ungrateful person very severely: This is because Allah does never change a bounty which He has conferred upon a people until they change their own condition,‑ and because Allah is Hearing, Knowing (8:53); ... and whoever changes the favor of Allah after it has come to him, then surely Allah is severe in requiting (evil) (2:211). And Allah has set a general parable for its bounties and how it changes when people become ungrateful. He says: And Allah sets forth a parable: (consider) a town safe and secure to which its means of subsistence come in abundance from every quarter, ‑ but it became ungrateful to Allah's favor, therefore Allah made it to taste the utmost degree of hunger and fear because of what they wrought (16:112).

The verse beginning from "This day have those who disbelieve", and ending at "Islam as a religion", announces that the religion of the Muslims is completely secured against the disbelievers and is safe from every danger which could come from that side; and no corruption or destruction can infiltrate into it except from the Muslims themselves. That would happen if the Muslims showed ingratitude towards this perfect Divine bounty and rejected this complete religion chosen by Him; then Allah would take away His favor from them and change it to retribution and affliction and would make them taste the utmost degree of hunger and fear. Unfortunately, the Muslims have done it and Allah has made them suffer the consequences.

If anyone wants to understand how true is the prophecy of tribulation and trial (which is inferred from the Divine words: fear them not, and fear Me), he should ponder on the condition of the Islamic world today, then he should go back analyzing the historical events until he reaches at the roots of these misfortunes and afflictions.

The verses of al-wilayah (guardianship, mastership) in the Qur'an are fully connected with the threat and warning contained in this verse. Allah has not cautioned His servants of Himself except when it concerns the wilayah; and has said in this respect, time and again: ... and Allah cautions you of Himself... (3:28 & 3:30). To go more deeply in this subject will take us out of the scope of this book.

QUR'AN: This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion:

al-Ikmal (to perfect) and al-itmam  (to complete) are near to each other in meaning. ar-Raghib has said: "A thing is called perfect when it serves the purpose which it is intended for; and it becomes complete when it reaches a stage where it doesn't need anything extra; a thing is called incomplete when it needs something more."

You can differentiate the meaning of the two words in another way: Effects of the things are of two kinds; some effects spring from it when all its parts and ingredients are in place; if any of its ingredients or conditions is missing, the effect will not take place. We can take the example of the fast; if any of its conditions is violated even for a very small part of the day the fast will be void. Such things are described with the word "completion". Allah says: ... then complete the fast till night ... (2:187); And the word of your Lord has been completed truly and justly ... (6:115).

On the other hand, there are the effects, which spring from a thing without waiting for completion of all its ingredients. When one part is found, its related effect will appear; if all ingredients are present the desired effect will appear in its entirety. This is described as perfection. Allah says: ... but he who cannot find (any offering) should fast for three days during the hajj and for seven days when you return; these (make) ten (days) perfect ... (2:196); ... and that you should perfect the number ... (2:185). The effect of some parts of this number is seen, as are the effects of the whole number. Arabs say: His affairs are complete and his understanding is perfect; but they do not say: His understanding is complete and his affairs are perfect.

There is a difference between al-ikmal and at-takmil as there is between al-itmam and at-tatmim. It is the difference between the paradigms of al-if'al and at-taf'il. al-If'al basically shows instantaneousness of a work while at-taf'il shows graduality. However, in a wider sense or as a result of literary evolution, the meanings in both paradigms change; sometimes, they become very different from the meaning of the root word, e.g. al-ifrat (excess) and at-tafrit (negligence), etc. Actually, these meanings were attached to such words at some par­ticular occasions and then regular usage made them inseparable and they became like actual meanings.

It appears from the above discourse that the sentence, "This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you", shows that something has been added to the religion, (which is a collection of beliefs, ideologies and laws) today making it perfect; and the Divine bounty and favor (which was something spiritual) was incomplete and without effect until today when it was completed and now the expected effect is going to result from it.

The favor and bounty is the thing, which has affinity with nature of the recipient of that bounty. All the things are interconnected with each other because they are parts of the system of Divine management and in the long run all have affinity with one another; and most, rather all of them are Divine bounties when they are put parallel to each other, as Allah says: ... and if you count Allah's bounties you will not be able to number them ... (14:34); ... and made complete to you His favors outwardly and inwardly ... (31:20).

However, Allah has described some of these favors naming them as evil, vile, game and play and using similar adjectives which are not praiseworthy as He says: And let not those who disbelieve think that Our granting them respite is good their souls; We grant them respite only that they may increase in sins; and they shall have a disgraceful chastisement (3:178); And this life of the world is nothing but a sport and a play; and as for the next abode, that most surely is the life ... (29:64); Let it not deceive you that those who disbelieve go to and fro in the cities (fearlessly). A brief enjoyment! then their abode is hell, and evil is the resting place (3:196‑7). There are many other verses like these.

All these verses show that the things, which are counted as bounties and Divine favors, would really be bounties when they conform with the Divine purpose for which they were given to man. They have been created to serve as the Divine help to man in order that the man could use them in the way of his real felicity; in other words, when they help the man to be nearer to Allah through worship and submission to His Mastership. Allah says: And I have not created the jinn and the human beings except that they should worship Me (51:56).

All the things and faculties, which the man uses with the aim of attaining nearness to Allah and seeking Divine pleasure, are the bounties and favors. Otherwise, they will become an affliction and trial. It means that the things in themselves are neutral. They become favor and bounty because they have in themselves the spirit of servitude and with that praiseworthy usage they come under the Divine wilayah. This wilayah results in Divine management of the servants' affairs. It follows that the favor in reality is the Divine wilayah (mastership, guardianship); and a thing will become bounty when it contains something of that wilayah. Allah says: Allah is the guardian (master) of those who believe; He brings them out of the darkness into the light ... (2:257); That is because Allah is the Master of those who believe, and because the unbelievers have no master for them (47:11); and He says about His Messenger (s.a.w.a.): But no! by your Lord! they do not believe until they make you a Judge of that which has become a matter of disagreement among them, and then do not find any straitness in their hearts as to what you have decided and submit with total submission (4:65). You may find other similar verses in the Qur'an.

Islam is a religion because it is a collection of what was sent down from Allah for guidance of His servants, so that they may worship Him properly; and it is a Divine favor and bounty inasmuch as practically it contains in itself the wilayah of Allah, the wilayah of His Messenger and of those vested with authority (ulu 'l-amr) after him.

The wilayah of Allah (i.e., His management of the servants' affairs through the religion) cannot be complete except through the wilayah of His Messenger; nor will the wilayah of His Messenger be complete without the wilayah of those vested with authority after him; and that wilayah means their management of the religious affairs of the ummah with Divine permission. Allah says: 0 you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those vested with authority from among you (4:59), we have fully explained this verse before. Again, Allah says: Only Allah is your guardian and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the zakat while they bow (5:55); and we shall explain the verse, God willing, in its place.

Thus, the verse means as follows: Today, and it is the day when those who disbelieve have despaired of your religion, I have perfected for you the whole religious perceptions (which I had revealed to you before) by making the wilayah obligatory for you; and I have completed My bounty on you, and it is the wilayah which means management of the religious affairs with Divine guidance. Until now, you were under the wilayah of Allah and His Messenger only; but it could work only up to the time the revelations would be coming down from Allah; it could not work later when the revelation would be cut off, when the Messenger would not remain among the people to safeguard the Divine religion and defend it. It was essential that somebody should be appointed to carry on this responsibility and be vested with the authority after the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), to act as the overall authority in the affairs of the religion and the ummah.

The wilayah is a single project; it was incomplete until it was completed with appointment of the one, who was vested with the authority after the Prophet,

Now that the religion has became perfect in its legislation and the bounty of wilayah is completed, I have chosen for you the Islam as religion, which is the religion of monotheism, in which no one is worshipped except Allah and no one is obeyed (and obedience is a sort of worship) except Allah and those whose obedience He has made obligatory for you, that is, the Messenger and the waliyy.

The verse makes it clear that the believers are today enjoying the security after they were afraid before, and that Allah has chosen for them that they should devotedly adhere to Islam, the religion of monotheism. It is compulsory for them that they should worship Allah without associating anything with Him; they have only to obey Allah or him whose obedience has been ordered by Allah. Now, ponder on the Divine words: Allah has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them successors in the earth as He made successors those before them, and that He will most certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and that He will most certainly, after their fear, give them security in exchange; they shall worship Me, not associating aught with Me; and whoever disbelieves after this, these it is who are the transgressors (24:55). Then place it parallel to the verses under discussion: This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me. This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion. You will at once appreciate that this verse is the fulfillment of the promise given in the chapter of "Light"; the words: they shall worship Me, not associating aught with Me, describe the real purpose of this exercise as may be understood also from the end sentence: and whoever disbelieves after this, these it is who are the transgressors.

The chapter 24, "Light", was revealed long before the chapter of "The Table" as it contains the story of slander, the verse of flogging, and that of hijab (veil) and other such commandments.

Summary: (al-Mizan, volume 9, pages 227-247)